Holiday Wine Experiences:

Too many to list but here are the highlights over a two week period:

Twomey Merlot 2003 Napa Valley....think Silver Oak! Excellent.
Flowers Pinot at Go Fish in St. Helena. Both wine and food were incredible.
Alpha-Omega Winery in St. Helena. Right off Highway 29. Check 'um out....four wines only but all good! Beautiful setting too. Both Cabs are under priced in my opinion.
Of course, the Silver Chardonnay on a couple of occasions. This was probably my favorite white of 2006. Some Mer Soleil purists scoff at the screw cap but trust me, this is good juice. Saw it at BevMo for $39.99.

Had the pleasure of being invited to The 2006 Wine Steward Holiday Party in Pleasanton Wednesday night. As always, Jim, Kent, et. al. does a wonderful job. Fourteen of their best distributors were on had to pour some of the good juice! It's impossible to try all the selections so my Father and I focused on a couple of choices and here were the ones we enjoyed:

2003 Honig Cabernet---always good, highly recommended with a nice price: $33.00.
2003 Honig "Bartolucci" Cab----$73.00 a bottle. Excellent!

2004 Duckhorn Napa Merlot---$49.99 a bottle. One of the best producers of Merlot.
2003 Duckhorn Estate Cab----$89.99 a bottle. Yep...we liked it...a lot!

Kermit Lynch: Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet----$53.99 a bottle. Ahhhh...wow! Very limited but worth the effort. Only 56 cases made? The Distributor said it was one his favs.
2004 Vieux Telegraphe CDP----$51.99 a bottle. Incredible and always a winner. Never had it? Why are you waiting? Go get a bottle. One of my all-time favorites. Decant...sit back and watch it evolve. Probably best to wait this one out a few years but hard to resist now.

2002 Etude "St. Helena" Cabernet----$99.99 a bottle. Is it expensive? Yes! Was it our favorite taste of the night? Yes! Simply put: suburb! It's got it all. Wonderful!

Word of mouth which we didn't try but know and heard are good:

2002 Talbott Diamond T Chardonnay----$55.99 (two people said you got to try this Chard.)2002 Ch. St. Jean Cinq Cepages----$58.99 (have tried it in the past but not this vintage)
2005 Frank Family Chardonnay---$31.99 (consistently good with high accolades)
2003 Corison Cabernet----$61.99. (Never had a bad one...always good)
2003 Ojai "Melville" Syrah----$45.99 (have read and heard it's a knockout)

Houge Genesis Merlot 2003:

Guess I'm on a little Merlot kick but oh well! Regarding Genesis----dark in color, liquid blueberries/raspberries...very nice. Nose---leather, tar with maybe green olives? Smoky oak, very earthy. Taste: ripe black cherries which lingers on the palette for a long time.

The 2002 scored a 90 from Wine Spectator. I was introduced to the 2003 by Kent Sheldon of the Wine Steward in Pleasanton. Great store, wonderful guys who work with you for all your wine needs. Honestly, they do a wonderful job. The Genesis sells for the nice price of $12 to $14 a bottle.

Quick update: the BevMo store in Walnut Creek is awesome! It's one of their signature stores so they have everything. I did see the Provenance Merlot Napa Valley '03 on sale for $25 a bottle. The also had the Silver Chardonnay for $39.99 a bottle. You can find it cheaper online but try a bottle over the Holiday's just so you're familiar with it. Great stuff.

Comments, questions or suggestions: steve.paulson@coxtv.com

Some quick hits on wine I've tried over the Thanksgiving weekend which rated very high:

1) Silver by Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands Unoaked Chardonnay 2005; Incredible juice that impressed even non-Chardonnay drinkers. In a category by itself. Clear in color, a citrus, green apple nose with subtle minerals. Bright, fresh, very tropical-like with a beautifully satisfying aftertaste. Word of mouth is spreading fast on this incredible Chardonnay. Caveat: prices are all over the map but if you look on-line, I've seen it offered at $29.95 a bottle. (That includes tax but not shipping)

2) Provenance Merlot Napa Valley '03; Ever since Miles dogged it in "Sideways", Merlot has taken a serious but completely unnecessary hit with consumers. Well, forget what he said, put down that Pinot Noir and re-discover Merlot. Here's a great place to start too! Nice ruby color right out of the bottle, wonderful herbs/floral nose with a hint of red currents. Upon tasting, fresh and lively with an explosion of raspberries. For around $25.00! Four of us tried it, four of us really liked it too!

If you would like to make any comments/suggestions or ask general questions, you can reach me here: mailto:steve.paulson@coxtv.com

Okay...I've been reviewing some rather hoi polloi wines which are well past most people's pricepoint so let's bring the suggestions back into reality:

If you haven't visited the Livermore Valley yet, I strongly recommend it. It can be a quick trip to taste some nice wines. Tesla Road hosts most of the heavy hitters with Wente leading the pack. There have definitely been some additions as new wineries and tasting rooms open up. Off the beaten path though is Eckert Estate Winery. They weren't tasting this wine but four bottles remained so I bought one strictly because you don't see it too often: Charbono! Only 80 acres of this grape are planted in the entire state but it's a wonderful red that's a nice compliment with Italian foods. Chameleon Cellars in St. Helena has makes a Charbono so if you see it, give some a try.

Back to Eckert, I enjoyed their 2001 Livermore Merlot for $18 a bottle. It's 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet. It won a Silver and Bronze at the the California State Fair and Eldorado Fair. Definite plum/black cherry with a hint of tannin. You can age it for three to five years but it's ready now too.

During my vacation, I had the pleasure of attending a very special wine tasting at the Wine Steward in Pleasanton. Paul Bullard, a distributor with 30-years in the wine business, brought some incredible low production wines in to taste. He is extremely well connected in the Napa/Sonoma areas. Here are some of the highlights from his 11-wine sample:

Most of these are rare or very limited production but try your local wine shop or the Wine Steward if you "must have" one of those wines:

1) 2004 Martinelli "Charles Ranch" Chardonnay $46.99 a bottle: from some of Sonoma's oldest Chardonnay vines (1970s) which are located South of Sea Ranch and near Jenner. Winemaker Helen Turley used 100% new oak, the wine is unflitered and offers plenty of aging potential. Very ripe fruit, honey, burnt caramel color. Only 23 cases in California. Good luck!

For more on Helen Turley: http://www.ariadnerestaurant.com/TURLEY.htm

2) 2004 Ancien Carneros Pinot Noir for $31.99 a bottle: Served by the glass at The French Laundry! Maybe you've heard of it? Doh! From the Joesph Swan Clone, this is one wild Pinot that's piercing with fruit. Excellent for the price. This wine gripes you with flavor and color. Hints of pommogrante and rose petals make this just wild! Yeah baby!

3) 2004 Melka "CJ" Cabernet Sauvignon at $50.99 a bottle: for the price, it's a steal! Only 300 cases but this is a juicy, sleek, fruity wine with moderate tannins. One-third of the grapes are Caymus Special Select so you know the company is good. Can be opened now or aged for about five years but honestly, it screams drink me now! Good stuff!

Tasting Highlights for me:

2004 Selene "Dead Fred" Cabernet Sauvignon at $76.99 a bottle.

2004 Robert Biale "Aldo's" Zinfandel at $52.99

The winner: 2003 Blankiet Cabernet Sauvignon....only $225....a bottle! In a word---wow!
http://blankiet.com/